


Love Writes Volumes

by Fernon



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Cute, Dogs, First Meetings, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, How Do I Tag, Humor, Kevin is a vet, M/M, basically Jacob adopts a dog, soft stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 11:29:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19131133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fernon/pseuds/Fernon
Summary: Jacob, a single (lonely) editor (and romantic novel author) spontaneously adopts a dog, in hopes that it will fill the void in his heart.





	Love Writes Volumes

**Author's Note:**

> So this was supposed to be way longer, and it was gonna get really angsty, but I haven't written something short in a long while. Plus I like the ending for this. 
> 
> PS I'm dumb and made Kevin a vet and halfway through writing this I remembered he's allergic to cats, so some improvising was done lol

Jacob sometimes just wonders if he truly  _ is _ destined to be alone for the rest of his life. He receives the invitation to his best friend’s engagement party, and all but  _ groans _ . He truly is, the last single one of his friends, not that he hasn’t been since Hyunjae and Juyeon got together, but, there was at least some potential (and, Jacob supposes, twisted) hope that they could break up and Hyunjae and Jacob could go out to karaoke bars together and enjoy their lives as single independent gays.

Jacob genuinely hasn’t dated anyone since he was 20, in college, and a ‘romantic candle-lit dinner’ was a bowl of instant ramen noodles under the nasty yellow lights in a college dorm room. That was his first  _ boyfriend,  _ actually, and he was a sweet guy, named Woojin, with a beautiful singing voice, and a cute smile. Jacob had learned everything he had to know from Woojin, and they would laugh together, and watch stupid movies together, and attend the occasional party together. 

But with the end of their third year at college, came the end of their relationship. Woojin was graduating a year early, and was too busy with his internships, to spend much time with Jacob, and Jacob agreed that they would see other people. 

Here Jacob sits, a good almost 9 years later, has seen maybe three other people on dates (and a hookup, that was absolutely no good, and Jacob would rather forget) and the last single one of his friend group. Changmin had been married to his wife for almost two years now, and Younghoon was perpetually trying to set Jacob up with any available male that worked at his company (which his fiancee thought was a delightful idea, even though neither of them realized that all but two of the eligible bachelors weren’t even slightly attracted to men). 

Jacob’s only other dating experience was a girl he kissed at bible camp when he was maybe 15, and that was also the moment that Jacob knew he did not like girls. 

So, yes, Jacob decided that he was to be perpetually alone, and live a life with his many, many dogs, and his successful career as an editor for the city’s most widely-read magazine (and as his secret side ‘job’, his blog, where he writes out sweet, romantic novels). Jacob texts Hyunjae, agreeing to go to the engagement party three weeks from now, and heads back to the office from his lunch break. 

He spends the day editing countless articles, perfecting page layouts, matching color schemes, and approving new articles, but something inside him churns, and sits heavy inside of him, bubbling and brewing all day. He finds himself wandering the city on his way home, completely lost and unsure, and something melancholy seeping into his bones, before Jacob realizes what the feeling is.

It’s loneliness.

It’s a loneliness to make him question what he’s even doing with his life, something that creates the worst kind of insecurity and seeds a horrible gut wrenching “what’s wrong with me” question in his brain. 

“What’s wrong with me” sprouts into a horrible evening of mirror glares, self-loathing, and googling diets, as well as the wonderful blossoming of ‘regretting every life choice I’ve ever made’ and too-late embarrassment of everything he’s ever said. Jacob decides that ice cream is in order, and chick-flicks are a good decision. 

Jacob drowns his sorrows in the plot of a tragic Jane Austen remake, until he hears his neighbor’s dog begin to bark, and a light bulb goes off in his brain. 

 

The next day, a cloudy Saturday, brings Jacob an early morning full of writing up the next chapter of his latest novel  _ Sunset Sparks _ , and sending it to his ‘editor’ and trusted (internet-but-real-life-because-they’ve-met-thrice-now) friend, before a trip to the local pet store. Jacob forgoes the tiny puppies in the windows, despite how freaking cute they are, and goes straight to the supplies- toys, food, bowls, and a bed, which might be too large, but Jacob figures that’s okay.

“Your total is $56.31,” the cashier drones, and Jacob smiles brightly, pays without a problem, and makes his way to the local shelter. Jacob doesn’t let himself second guess this decision, deciding that if he’s going to end up alone, he might as well bring some joy to someone’s life, and that a dog is the exact creature whose life he’d like to brighten. 

Jacob steps through the doors and is greeted by a muffled chorus of barking behind closed doors elsewhere in the room, and a brown-haired, soft-cheeked, smiley man, holding a large bag of dog food. He’s rather beautiful, and something about him makes Jacob feel all fuzzy and comforted inside. 

“Hello!” The man’s voice is a tad loud, and slightly high in pitch, but warm and full of sunshine, nonetheless. “I’ll be with you momentarily!” He says, before disappearing through the doors that hold all the barking. 

Jacob looks around at all the supplies they have in the shelter, most of them hand-crafted by someone who works at the shelter, and Jacob collects just a few more items for whatever dog he decides to bring home today, smiling at the thought. He turns to see the man coming back through the doors, that glamorous smile grazing his face yet again. 

“Hi, my name is Kevin! Sorry about the wait, it’s feeding time for the beasts!” Kevin laughs, exaggerating a bit, and Jacob laughs a little too. “What can I do for you today?”

“I want to adopt a dog.” Jacob says.

“Alright, you’ll have to wait a few minutes, until after they’re done eating, but then I can show you all the dogs ready for adoption.”

“That’s fine! So, Kevin, do you just volunteer here, or…?” Jacob asks, trying to keep some form of conversation going. Kevin is busy scribbling some things down on paperwork attached to a clipboard, but he looks up, the smile still on his face. 

“Yes! I love dogs- actually I’m allergic to cats, not that cats are all bad. I’m a vet when I’m not volunteering here. Despite my allergies.”

“You take ‘allergic to working’ to a whole new level,” Jacob laughs, and Kevin joins him in laughter. 

“I suppose so. But allergy medicine works wonders. Not that my allergies are terrible, just a really stuffy nose, lots of sneezing, and plenty of itching. That’s why when I volunteer, it’s strictly for dogs. I actually didn’t even know I was allergic to cats until I started on my veterinarian degree. But by then it was too late, I had my heart set on it.” Kevin smiles warmly again, and Jacob can feel a tiny ray of admiration shining on Kevin. 

“That’s really cool, that you were so passionate about pursuing your dream.” Jacob says a bit shyly. Kevin smiles a little, nodding.

“Uh, thanks for thinking that.” Kevin’s face is flushed a light pink, and he buries his nose into some paperwork on the counter. Jacob pretends to look around at everything some more (even though he’s already got an armful of things that he’s going to be buying) until Kevin calls him over, saying that the dog’s feeding time is over, and he may look at all the dogs. Jacob smiles and sets his items down on the counter, to come back for later, and follows Kevin through the doors, to be met with two long rows of dog kennels, most of whom are still pretty excited from getting fed. A few of the kennels have two dogs in them, and Jacob coos at the puppies in one of the kennels, all wiggly and excited, yapping in invitation, asking for some pats. 

Jacob reaches some of his fingers through the bars and gives them ear scratchies, and giggles when one of them licks him, and then forces himself to leave the puppies, because Jacob has never been 100 percent responsible for a dog, let alone a puppy with three times as much energy and no house training. Jacob says his goodbyes to the puppies, and walks along, not really noticing Kevin watching him, or smiling at his moment of softness for the small puppies.

Jacob stops to see a small dog, who wags his tail but seems pretty disinterested, and pauses when Kevin clears his throat. “That’s Sammy, he’s one of or best dogs. How many dogs have you owned in the past?”

“Oh… Well… My parents had two dogs when I was growing up.. But I’ve never owned a dog myself.” Jacob straightens, smiling sheepishly. 

“Oh! Well then perhaps I’ll show you some of our easy going dogs. Our best behaved, less rambunctious dogs. They’d be better for people who don’t have much experience with dogs. That’s one of the biggest reasons dogs end up in an endless cycle of shelters. Most people don’t know what they signed up for, and they end up not being able to handle it.” Kevin’s voice grows a bit sorrowful, and much softer. Jacob feels himself frowning. 

“That’s terrible!”

“And that’s why I think it’s important to be shown the dogs that are best for your skill level first.” Kevin nods, and leafs through his files of dogs. “Okay, there’s Macy, and Harley, and Sprocket, and Jin… Mochi is older, but very loving. There’s also Hero, Max, and Rhea.” Kevin leads him to a small fluffy white dog, with floppy ears.

“This one is Mochi. She’s 8 now, but she’s a shih tzu mix, and that breed usually last another six or so years. She’s sweet, but very slow on walks, she prefers sleeping.” Kevin says. Jacob reaches a hand out to her, and pets her through the bars, and she gives him a lick, but puts her head back down and goes back to snoozing. 

“Hmm… No, I like bigger dogs. And something a little more... Energetic? I like hiking, so maybe a dog that could keep up with long walks.” Jacob says. Kevin nods.

“Okay, so that leaves Macy, Hero, and Jin. This is Hero, he’s three, and he’s a lab mix. Very friendly, good for walks, and ready for adventures. Very smart, easily trained, as well.”

Jacob tries to get Hero to come over for some pats, but Hero isn’t very interested. “They say the dog picks you, right…?” Jacob says. Kevin laughs a little and nods. 

“I suppose they do. We had a family come in and look at Hero the other day, but they had to sort a few things out before they could get a dog. Supplies and such. I think he liked them. This is Jin, he’s a doberman, which means he looks scary, but really, truly, he’s a softie. He’s good on walks, but still a bit lazy, so walks are usually on his terms. But, if you get him into the car, and get him on a walk in a new place, I’m sure he’ll be excited to go.”

Jacob tries to pet this dog as well, but Jin seems just as disinterested as the previous dogs had. Jacob is beginning to feel a tad bit discouraged. 

“Don’t worry. We have plenty more dogs. Next is Macy…” 

Jacob trails after Kevin, and jumps a little when there’s a particularly loud bark, and Jacob looks to his left to see a dog that comes up to about his middle, standing on the bars of the kennel, and barking happily, it’s tail wagging. It’s got long shaggy fur, that’s mostly an off white cream color, with a more tan at the ends, and it’s chest and face are white, save for a splotch of the tan around it’s eye. One ear stands up, and the other flops over, and the dog’s tail is long and fluffy. 

It looks something like a labradoodle, with a collie, and perhaps some shepherd of some sort in it. The dog’s paws are large, and it’s eyes the softest, puppiest eyes Jacob has ever seen. And he swears, the dog is  _ smiling _ at him.

The dog lets out another yap of happiness and hops down, doing a circle of excitement. “Awe, hi. What’s your name?” Jacob coos and strays towards the kennel, reaching a hand out to be sniffed, and to give the dog pats. The dog just licks him, and barks excitedly, somewhere between a whine and a bark.

“Oh, that’s Subak.” Kevin says. “He’s a sweet dog, but he chews up a lot of things, and he’s got enough energy for hikes, like you wanted. He’s definitely pretty stubborn, as well. But not a bad dog, maybe a little bit of a handful for someone who’s never owned a dog before…” Kevin’s voice is hesitant. 

 

“Subak! Bad dog! Don’t chew my shoes up! Please! No come back here!” Jacob is currently chasing his (of two whole days now) dog around the kitchen. Kevin had tried to talk him out of it, into a less… ‘rambunctious’ dog, but Jacob had insisted that this was the dog for him, that Subak had chosen him. Kevin had handed Jacob a business card, and told him to call him or the vet’s office if he ever needed help. To which Jacob blushed and thanked him. 

Jacob had genuinely thought that Subak was a good choice. 

When Jacob had sent a photo of Subak sitting in the backseat looking happy as could be, to his group chat of friends, the immediate responses were ‘awe!’, ‘you got a dog?!’, and ‘he’s yours?!’. Jacob smiled proudly at his phone, and told Hyunjae, Changmin, and Younghoon, that the dog’s name is Subak, and he had just adopted him today. 

Jacob began to rethink this choice when Hyunjae texted him and asked him if he was okay. Jacob had reassured at first, but then it turned into ‘Jacob, a dog is a LIVING CREATURE and isn’t a replacement for the fact that you’re still single. It might make you warm and fuzzy inside, but a dog is not going to change being sad because you’re the last single one left.’

To which Jacob had cursed Hyunjae for reading him so well, and then sort of cried for half an hour, because maybe a dog was, indeed, a dumb idea. 

Jacob thought Subak was a good choice, when the dog crawled up beside him and set a paw on his leg, and licked his cheek, like he was concerned about the tears rolling down Jacob’s cheeks. 

Jacob was rethinking his choice for the second time, at this point in time, while chasing Subak around the kitchen, tripping over the waste of six ( _ SIX!) _ different pairs of shoes, the remains of the (luckily not super full) trash can, part of his old wallet, and three perfectly  _ untouched _ chew toys. He manages to trick Subak by running the other way and stopping him from the other direction, and grabbing a hold of one half of the pair of his- most expensive  _ dress shoes _ . 

“Subak these were  _ designer! _ Quite literally one of  _ two _ designer things I’ve ever bought in my entire life!” Jacob whines and Subak tilts his head and snuffs approvingly as if to say:

_ ‘Designer?! So that’s why it tasted better than the others!’ _

Jacob gives a tug on the shoe, only to send Subak’s fluffy tail wagging, and a growl from his throat. Jacob groans. “No, this isn’t a game! Let go of my shoe!” Jacob tries tugging again, but Subak tugs back, a gleam in his eyes.

Jacob uses his hip to bump Subak back, while he tugs the shoe out of Subak’s vice grip. “Bad Subak! No chewing on shoes!” Jacob scolds, and Subak shrinks back just a little, a small whine coming from the dog, making Jacob feel the tiniest bit bad for shouting. That is, Jacob feels bad until he points the shoe, and Subak barks and his tail is wagging again, and he’s jumping for the shoe. Jacob manages to turn away just in time, and runs to his room to shove the shoe back into where it belongs in his closet. 

Jacob picks up all the other shoes in a hurry, and shoves them all into his closet as well, because at least Subak can’t get in there, and then slumps on the couch, with a sigh. “What am I going to do with you?” Subak seems to be pouting, but he goes over to one of his brand new chew toys, and lays with it, and starts gnawing on it. Jacob supposes that’s a good sign, so after a few minutes of Subak chewing on the chew toy, he smiles and goes over, praising him for chewing on the blue bone he had bought, and giving him ear scratchies. 

Then, he offers to take Subak on a walk. 

 

Jacob had panicked and texted Kevin  _ once _ to ask if Subak eating an entire bunch of bananas (peels and all), half a piece of paper, all but the rubber sole of a sneaker, and old coffee grounds from the garbage can would kill him. Kevin assured him that it would not, he just might not feel great, and that Jacob would surely find the remains in a few days. 

Jacob found them for sure, in exactly two days, at the dog park. If that wasn’t an embarrassing day, he didn’t know what was. 

  
  


Subak was pretty well settled into his home by the time Hyunjae and Juyeon’s engagement party rolled around, and Jacob was just out to buy a new pair of dress shoes, when he happened upon none other than Kevin, in the same formal wear shop, looking for a new button down. They helped themselves to lunch and coffee together (which Jacob found out that Kevin has a  _ slight _ addiction to) and then spent the remainder of their Sunday strolling through the park (Subak excluded).

“How are you doing with Subak, anyways? Other than he seems to like to eat everything except dog food.” Kevin laughs a little, referring to Jacob’s momentary state of panic.

“Luckily, it hasn’t been horrible. He ruined my favorite pair of designer shoes, as well as five other pairs, and he constantly tries to eat out of the garbage, but otherwise it’s not that bad. He gets really restless when I’m working the office, but lucky for us my job allows me to work from home a lot of the time.” Jacob smiles. 

“What do you do?” Kevin asks. 

“I’m an editor for  _ Creker Magazine _ . And I write novels on the side.” Jacob shrugs and smiles sheepishly. 

“Ooh, what kind of novels?” Kevin leans forward, his chin on his hands, a tiny smirk on his lips. Jacob’s face flushes. 

“Oh, well… Well, they’re romance novels. I dunno, it sounds dumb, and cheesy, but… I like that what’s in a novel is  _ ideal _ . And I don’t have much of a love life, so… let’s say I live vicariously through my characters.” Jacob looks down at his lap. “Wow, I sound like a giant fucking  _ loser _ just saying that…”

“No you don’t, sheesh. I watch romantic comedy movies  _ all  _ the time. Not that I don’t see a fair share of dates and such, but. Some of the ideas are cute, I suppose.” Kevin smiles. 

“Yeah. I suppose it’s why I haven’t gotten many dates. I sort of have… really high expectations.” Jacob laughs lightly, and Kevin smiles at him, and Jacob’s heart flutters. He really does have a beautiful smile.

 

Jacob returns home that night to find the garbage can tipped over, a cupboard door  _ ripped from its hinges _ , pots and pans everywhere, the couch with only three (of five) pillows remaining, and the table leg being gnawed at. 

“Subak! You awful nuisance!” Jacob scolds, making Subak jump from his spot under the kitchen table, where he was still working away at the table leg. “Kennel, now!” Jacob opens the door of Subak’s time out cage, and Subak slinks over, and lays down in resignation in the kennel. Jacob makes sure to snap a few quick photos and sends them to Kevin with a frowny face.  _ “Just when I thought we were doing good with this whole ‘I’m away from home’ thing!” _

Jacob then proceeds to clean up Subak’s mess, and take a quick shower, before taking Subak for his nightly walk. Jacob checks his phone during the walk, to see Kevin responded. 

_ ‘I told you he was trouble! Nice apartment, despite all the garbage your tornado dog threw everywhere.’ _

Jacob laughed and thanked Kevin in another text, and told him that (despite the mess it caused) he had a really nice time today, and they both agreed to do it again.

 

Jacob dropped Subak off at his co-workers for the weekend, while he headed out to Hyunjae and Juyeon’s engagement party. It’s at some swanky hotel, with an open bar (since apparently Juyeon or his family are filthy rich) and Jacob feels ridiculous in his button down and dress pants. Not that everyone else wasn’t casual dressy, but… everything seemed to be gold plated, or  _ designer _ . 

Dammit, Subak. Those were my only good shoes. Jacob spends a good two hours catching up with Hyunjae, whom he hasn’t seen in months, and at some point Changmin and Younghoon had found him as well, and it was all good times and laughter between the four of them. Hyunjae’s co-worker (more like an assistant, the kid had just graduated a year ago) Sunwoo greets Hyunjae, and he gets sucked into the laughter as well. It’s a happy feeling, one that Jacob hasn’t felt in a while. 

Jacob slips away from the conversation to the bar, to get a drink, only to see none other than Kevin, standing at the bar, laughing with Juyeon. “Kevin?” Jacob asks, a little bit shocked to see his lunch date at this soiree of all places. He looked dashing, in his deep purple button down and his black slacks. His hair is styled up off his forehead, and Jacob can’t help but feel that it’s a rather sexy look on the other. 

Kevin whirls around, and a smile breaks out on his face. Not that he wasn’t smiling to begin with, it just… changed, somehow. “Jacob! Hi! What are you doing here?”

“Hyunjae, he’s my best friend. I see you must know Juyeon!”

“Yes! We were roommates in college.” Kevin looks to Juyeon, who smiles and nods. 

“I’ll leave you two to it, I have to get around to see some family. Jacob, it was nice seeing you again. I’m sure I’ll catch you again before you leave tomorrow.”  Juyeon smiles warmly at Jacob and slips off. 

“I was just getting a drink, do you want one?” Jacob offers. 

“Uh, sure.” Kevin smiles, and Jacob orders drinks for the both of them, something fruity for himself, and something closer to beer for Kevin, who says he’s rather particular about his drinks. The two of them talk for hours, and Hyunjae even stops in to bother Jacob for a small portion of the time, which is fine with the both of them. By the end of the night, Jacob had offered Kevin to dance twice, and they had both had a drink or two, and for some reason, Jacob’s heart was beating out of his chest, and he wanted to  _ kiss _ Kevin. 

He’s laughing, and it’s like a gentle caress to Jacob’s heart, and a sound he’d never get sick of hearing, and he’s got the stars in his eyes, and- and Jacob is kissing him before he knows it, something spontaneous and romantic. Jacob’s hand rests on the small of Kevin’s back, and the other hand holds up Kevin’s for the waltz they’re in the middle of. Kevin’s movements stop, and his muscles ease under Jacob’s touch, and his lips are eager against Jacob’s almost asking for more, but keeping things shy, and classy. 

Kevin pulls away first, and looks to Jacob. 

“The party is almost over anyways, only Hyunjae and Juyeon and a handful of others are left. What do you say we get out of here?” Kevin asks softly. Jacob couldn’t agree more. 

Maybe Jacob isn’t destined to be alone. 

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've never written for TBZ before, but I figured I'd write something for them. 
> 
> Thanks Aubs for helping me straighten things out with this. 
> 
> Follow me on Twitter, @/youknow_yunho


End file.
